MO conservatives may be hoisted on their own petard

How much do some Missouri conservatives hate ranked-choice voting? They placed a constitutional amendment on this fall’s ballot to preemptively block municipalities from giving such novel systems a try. (St. Louis City, which switched to approval voting in 2020, would be grandfathered in.) But Dave Roland, director of litigation at the Freedom Center of Missouri, couldn’t help but notice something in Tuesday’s election results: Conservative Republicans would almost certainly have fared much better under a ranked-choice system. After all, the more centrist Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe likely won the gubernatorial primary because the flame-throwing conservatives Jay Ashcroft and Bill Eigel cut into each other’s support. (Kehoe won 40 percent to their combined 56 percent.) “It seems clear from yesterday's result that a significant majority of Republican voters wanted a conservative candidate to be the party's nominee,” Roland says. “They just couldn't agree on which one!”

As practiced by Utah Republicans (among others), ranked choice would have allowed right-leaning voters to rank their favorite candidate first and the next second. When the third-place candidate was eliminated (in this case, likely Ashcroft), his votes could have instead gone to Eigel, putting him over the edge.

Why It Matters: As Roland observes, lots of data suggests that Missouri voters like pugnacious pols in the mold of Donald Trump. But after six years of the folksy Mike Parson as governor—who was appointed to the job after Eric Greitens flamed out in a pyre of scandal—they’re looking at either Kehoe or Democrat Crystal Quade, both of whom would have likely struggled to make the runoff under a ranked-choice or approval-based system.

What’s Next: This November, voters will consider the Republican-supported ban on alternative voting systems. Democrats may hope that no one shows them this news item.—S.F.

Rachel explains - WTF

Are conservatives fans of Citizens United or…not?

Jay Ashcroft isn’t a fan.

https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/jay-ashcroft-endorses-mike-kehoe-blames-fundraising-for-finishing-third-in-governors-race/

The confluence of money - emotion - and politics in CD1

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/07/us/politics/who-is-we sley-bell.html

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/progressives-reckon-massive-campaign-spending-deficit-after-cori/story?id=112667023

MO Primary - 377k Dem ballots cast - just under 124k in CD1 making the district just under ⅓ of ballots - but also realize LOTS of Dems pull GOP ballots due to local races and because they want to help the least worst Republican win, etc and especially our state where the local GOP control can make Aug primaries THE election for many offices 

Shadowy ad cabal GARM shuts down after Elon Musk’s X files antitrust suit over censorship

https://nypost.com/2024/08/08/business/shadowy-ad-cabal-garm-shuts-down-after-elon-musks-x-files-antitrust-suit-over-censorship/

https://www.businessinsider.com/ad-group-to-suspend-garm-initiative-following-elon-musk-lawsuit-2024-8

Yaccarino hostage video 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/linda-yaccarino-x-ceo-awkward-video_n_66b273dde4b0551015a1651c

Yeah… No

Student Loan Law Suits 

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/biden-student-loan-plan-gets-blocked-again-by-appeals-court

Case: https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/StateofMissourietalvJosephBidenJretalDocketNo24023518thCirJun2820/3?doc_id=X28R80DBTEA9ERONQ3CDBLAFVPP

Buy or Sell

Dems can hold the momentum through November 5

https://www.semafor.com/article/08/09/2024/dems-in-array-on-the-road-with-harris-walz-in-michigan

Texas courts for Elon?

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/09/g-s1-16087/elon-musk-lawsuits-texas-same-judge-hears-them-tesla-stock

2024 Election Era

Polling updates: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/us/elections/polls-president.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Trump the grump: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/07/trump-election-campaign/

Trump’s meltdown presser

https://www.threads.net/@gtconway3dg/post/C-aytmdpC38/?xmt=AQGz0VCErACO6ldY56iPrUi-yr6TPVT-Wq_XcAHhRshqVQ

Palin Audio: https://www.politico.com/video/2012/04/palin-on-newspapers-she-reads-012773

New reporting - Trump’s story about a helicopter ride swaps out one black man for another

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/10/us/politics/trump-helicopter-crash-willie-brown.html

Trump’s big pitch to suburban women: don’t worry, no low income housing! 

https://x.com/atrupar/status/1822124336062329022?s=46&t=mukZUfs5M_R3E9tAHIu-GA

It’ll prob help if he calls Harris demeaning names: https://www.axios.com/

IS THERE ANY VALUE TO THE DEMS GOING AT TRUMP?

Harris/Walz hold rally in AZ while Trump is in noted battleground state and home to 4 electoral votes: Montana 

AZ Republican Mayor: 

https://www.threads.net/@acynig/post/C-d-wsMy6Xb/?xmt=AQGzfCv9hADhILwu-nseQsUqFwl3rwFbodA4-eeLdjjSxQ

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/09/us/politics/kamala-harris-arizona.html

• Note: Comment from Angela on Twitter that Tester was pushing hard on Trump on ethics issues so could be Trump settling that score - maybe, but what a dumb dumb waste of time especially since he’s. Or doing many appearances right now 

Florida?????? 

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2024/08/07/what-wave-democratic-volunteers-florida-means-harris-candidacy/